Shooting target with movable upper limbs

ABSTRACT

The shooting target comprises: a body adapted to be a shooting object, a foot; the body is fixed to the foot; the body comprises a trunk and an upper limb; the upper limb can undergo a first movement; the first movement is obtained by pulling a cable; a first end of the cable is fixed to the upper limb so as to act as a lever when a second end of the cable is pulled. It is typically a target with human appearance.

The present invention concerns a shooting target with mobile upper limbs; it typically concerns a target with human appearance.

In the field of shooting, targets with human appearance are known, which are equipped with a body that comprises for example: a trunk, a head, two upper limbs and two lower limbs; sometimes, the upper limbs are shaped so as to have hands; sometimes, the lower limbs are shaped so as to have feet. In these known solutions, the parts of the body are fixed together.

The Applicant has realised that in order to carry out realistic and thus meaningful training it would be appropriate for the body parts to be mobile with respect to one another. Of course, it would be easy to place in the target: motors, an electric power source and an electronic control unit; in this way, it would be possible to obtain any desired movement of the body parts.

However, such an approach to solving the problem of the movement of the body parts is very disadvantageous because it would lead to targets that are extremely expensive to produce and maintain, because the metal parts required would be a source of dangerous deviation of the shots that reach the target, and because the shots would damage the target so that, in a very short time period, i.e. after a very small number of direct hits, the movement of the body parts of the target would be impeded.

The present invention has different objectives: providing a simple, relatively cost-effective solution to the problem of the movement of the body parts of a shooting target, having flexible application, easy transportation, easy installation, as free as possible from metal parts.

Such objectives are accomplished by the shooting target as described and claimed herein.

The basic idea of the present invention is, on the one hand, that of limiting to the movement of the upper limbs (which the Applicant has understood to be more important), and, on the other hand, that of causing a movement by simply pulling a cable; in particular, a first end of the cable is fixed to the upper limb so as to act as a lever when a second end of the cable is pulled.

The cable can be metallic or non-metallic.

In any case, the amount of metal close to the body of the target is minimal.

The present invention will become clearer from the following description to be considered together with the attached figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with a first type of actuation,

FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with a second type of actuation, and

FIG. 4 shows side views of an upper limb of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in various possible positions.

Of course, the present invention should not be considered limited to the embodiment described here and shown in the figures.

According to its most general definition, the shooting target according to the present invention typically has a human appearance and comprises one or, more preferably, two upper limbs adapted to make movements.

Of course, as those skilled in the art understand very well, a shooting target with human appearance is very different from a clothes mannequin. Indeed, the shooting target is made to receive and absorb the shots taken by a pistol or by a rifle, is not made to be clothed but to be used precisely as produced, and has the need to look like a human being only approximately because the people shooting at it see it from afar.

In FIG. 1, the shooting target is wholly indicated with 1; it comprises:

-   -   a body 2 adapted to be a shooting object,     -   a leg 6, and     -   a foot 7.

The body 2 is fixed to the foot 7 through the leg 6.

The foot 7 is equipped with wheels 8 to allow the movement of the target 1 along a support surface 10.

The body 2 comprises a trunk 3, a head 4 and two upper limbs 5; each of the two upper limbs 5 essentially comprises an arm 51, a forearm 52, and a hand 53; moreover (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3), each of the two upper limbs 5 comprises a shoulder 54 (with its joint) and a protrusion 55 located in particular in an opposite position to the arm 51.

Both of the two upper limbs 5 can make movements.

In general, such movements can be inside the upper limb 5 (for example bending the forearm 52 with respect to the arm 51, bending the hand 53 with respect to the forearm 52), and/or between the limb 5 and the trunk 3 (for example rotating the limb 5 with respect to the torso 3).

As can be understood from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a first movement is a rotation of the limb 5 with respect to the trunk 3 (around the shoulder 54) in the direction of lifting the limb 5, a second movement is a rotation of the limb 5 with respect to the trunk 3 (around the shoulder 54) in the direction of lowering the limb 5.

As can be understood from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4E and FIG. 4F, a third movement can be a rotation of the forearm 52 with respect to the arm 51 (around an elbow) in the direction of lifting the forearm 52, a fourth movement can be a rotation of the forearm 52 with respect to the arm 51 (around an elbow) in the direction of lowering the forearm 52.

The first movement is obtained by pulling a cable 9.

The second movement is obtained through the force of gravity that acts on the upper limb 5; in particular, it can be due to the weight of the hand 53 and/or the weight of the forearm 52 and/or the weight of the arm 51.

With reference to the first movement, a first end 91 of the cable 9 is fixed to the upper limb 5, in particular to the protrusion 55, so as to act as a lever when a second end 92 of the cable 9 is pulled.

Considering an upper limb (corresponding for example to the limb 5) with its joint (corresponding for example substantially to the shoulder 54), it is possible to implement a lever of the first kind or of class one, wherein the weight of the limb acts on a first side, the cable acts on a second side, and the pivot is located in intermediate position, i.e. at the joint. This is a very simple and efficient movement system.

In general, a cable can be used to make any movement of an upper limb.

In general, two distinct cables can be used to make two distinct movements of the same upper limb.

What has been stated for an upper limb also applies to the other upper limb.

FIG. 4A shows an upper limb in a first rest position; FIG. 4B shows the limb after it has carried out a rotation for example of 45° and it has stopped in a second position; FIG. 4C shows the limb after it has carried out a rotation for example of 90° and it has stopped in a third position; FIG. 4D shows the limb after it has carried out a rotation for example of 135° and it has stopped in a fourth position.

FIG. 4E shows the limb after the forearm has carried out a rotation for example of 90° with respect to the arm and it has stopped in such a position.

FIG. 4F shows the limb after firstly the forearm has carried out a rotation for example of 90° with respect to the arm and then the limb has carried out a rotation for example of 90°, and it has stopped in such a position.

With reference to FIG. 2, the second end 92 of the cable 9 is pulled by a rotor associated with an electric motor 72; the electric motor 72 is arranged at the foot 2; in this way, it is unlikely that it is hit by a shot.

With reference to FIG. 3, the second end 92 of the cable 9 is pulled by a lever 73 with a counterweight; the lever 73 is hinged at the foot 7; in this way, it is unlikely that it is hit by a shot.

The lever 73 is adapted to rotate by gravity after having been released; such release can for example be mechanical or magnetic and can be due for example to the effect of vibrations or of a remote electronic control; in FIG. 3, the lever 73 is shown with a broken line in vertical position before it is released and pulls the end 92.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, there is therefore a mechanism for pulling the cable 9; the second end 92 of the cable 9 is fixed to a mobile part of such a mechanism. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the mechanism is located at the foot 7 and far from the body 2. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the mechanism is located at the leg 6 and far from the body 2. Since the mechanism (which contains metal parts) is located far from the body, the projectiles (made of metal material) directed at the body do not hit the mechanism.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the lowering movement of the limb 5 is obtained thanks to the weight of the limb itself, making the electric motor 72 rotate in the opposite direction to that used to lift the limb 5.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the lowering movement of the limb 5 is obtained thanks to the weight of the limb itself, making the lever 73 rotate manually in the opposite direction to that used to lift the limb 5 or releasing (manually or electrically) the end 92 of the cable 9 from the lever 73. Preferably, the mechanism that is adapted to move the upper limb can also be adapted to explode a charge so as to make it more realistic; even more preferably, the movement of the limb and the sound of the explosion are simultaneous or substantially simultaneous. For example, a pistol loaded with blanks can be associated with the mechanism and a mobile part of the mechanism can be adapted to act on the trigger of the pistol.

It should be noted that, according to a variant of the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism adapted only to explode a blank, and no mechanism adapted to move limbs. One or more movements of the upper limb can be triggered by one or more remote electronic controls; FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show for example an electronic control unit 75 (housed in the foot 7) adapted to receive remote electronic controls from a user and, for example, actuating the motor 72 or releasing the lever 73.

In order to create realistic scenarios, it is possible to provide an electronic control unit through which a user can send electronic controls to a plurality of shooting targets and thus create an animated scenario with human targets that move in various ways and that move their limbs in various ways.

An important aspect for carrying out the present invention is the joints (for example the shoulder 54) that allow the movements. Preferably, the body of the target is made entirely of plastic (i.e. not of metal so as to avoid dangerous deviation of the shots that reach the target) in particular polyurethane. Preferably, the joints are also made entirely of plastic (i.e. not of metal so as to avoid dangerous deviation of the shots that reach the target) in particular polyurethane; in order to allow a fairly easy rotation it is possible to play with the hardness and rigidity of the material as well as the clearances between the components of the joints. 

1. A shooting target comprising: a body adapted to be a shooting object, a foot, wherein said body is fixed to said foot; wherein said body comprises a trunk and an upper limb; wherein said upper limb can undergo a first movement; wherein said first movement is obtained by pulling a cable; wherein a first end of said cable is fixed to said upper limb so as to act as a lever when a second end of said cable is pulled.
 2. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein said first movement is a rotation of said upper limb with respect to said trunk in particular in the direction of lifting said upper limb.
 3. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein said upper limb can also undergo a second movement; wherein said second movement is obtained through the force of gravity that acts on said upper limb, in particular the weight of all or part of said upper limb (5).
 4. The shooting target of claim 3, wherein said second movement is a rotation of said upper limb with respect to said trunk in particular in the direction of lowering said upper limb.
 5. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein said upper limb comprises an arm and a forearm, and wherein said first movement of said upper limb or a third movement of said upper limb is a rotation of said forearm with respect to said arm in particular in the direction of lifting said forearm.
 6. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein said second end of said cable is pulled by a rotor associated with an electric motor, and wherein said electric motor is arranged at said foot.
 7. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein said second end of said cable is pulled by a lever with a counterweight, and wherein said lever is hinged at said foot.
 8. The shooting target of claim 7, wherein said lever is adapted to rotate by gravity after having been released.
 9. The shooting target of claim 1, wherein one or more movements of said upper limb are triggered by one or more remote electronic controls.
 10. The shooting target of claim 1, comprising joints, wherein said body is made entirely of plastic in particular polyurethane, and wherein said joints are made entirely of plastic in particular polyurethane.
 11. A shooting target comprising: a body adapted to be a shooting object, and comprising a trunk and an upper limb, a foot fixed directly or indirectly to said foot, a cable having a first end and a second end; wherein said first end is fixed to said upper limb so as to act as a lever and cause a lifting or lowering movement of said upper limb when said second end is pulled.
 12. The shooting target of claim 11, comprising a mechanism for pulling said cable, and wherein said second end is fixed to a mobile part of said mechanism.
 13. The shooting target of claim 12, wherein said mechanism is located at said foot, far from said body.
 14. The shooting target of claim 12, comprising a leg, wherein said body is connected directly to said leg, wherein said leg is connected directly to said foot, wherein said mechanism is located at said leg, far from said body.
 15. The shooting target of claim 12, wherein said mechanism is adapted to make a charge explode.
 16. A shooting target with human appearance comprising a body having at least one limb and a mechanism for making said limb turn; wherein said body is made entirely of plastic in particular polyurethane; wherein said mechanism is located far from said body; so that projectiles directed at said body do not hit said mechanism.
 17. The shooting target of claim 16, wherein said limb is adapted to turn through the effect of a lever of the first kind or of class one associated with a cable. 